Yvonne Bass – Undone

We had the opportunity to interview Yvonne Bass, the filmmaker of Undone. Undone is an official selection in the 12th annual Utah Film Festival. 

Undone is a modern take on the Shakespearian character of Lady Macbeth, focusing on the inner turmoil she faces in reflection of the many evil and cruel acts she’s committed in her quest for power. 

What was the inspiration to make Undone?

My love for Shakespeare ultimately inspired this project.  But the very first idea I had for it came to me when I was taking a bath, (notice a commonality?)  I smeared black eyeliner on my hand and I couldn’t get it off.  I thought of Lady M’s infamous line “out damned spot,” and the idea for the short grew from there.

I was so passionate about this project because I wanted to look inside Lady Macbeth’s mind… she is just a human. And guilt is a very human emotion. In her original storyline, Lady M ends her life when faced with her guilt.  But in this retelling, Lady M rids herself of her humanity.  The darkness of Lady M’s actions might leave you with a feeling of grossness, and that is the hope. If you are feeling uncomfortable when looking inside her mind, you are in a better place than she is.  Lady Macbeth can act as a warning to resist greed, corruption and betrayal.

From idea to completion, how did this production change?  

Originally I had planned for Lady Macbeth to start off cool and collected, and then to start to panic. This would follow closer to Shakespeare’s story.   I decided to take more creative freedom, I thought it would be more eerie for her to lose her humanity with a sort of “dark baptism”. 

I was pretty open minded with the rest, I didn’t have that big of expectations for it being my first bigger project with a crew under me. 

And as it always happens with filming, you have to drop and supplement shots – but I got even more from it than I thought was possible. 

What was the biggest challenge in getting Undone made? 

The biggest challenge from making Undone was ME.  Getting in my mind and becoming too anxious and overwhelmed.  It was difficult to push forward while trying to focus on school, and it was hard for me to believe that I could create a film that I would write, pre-produce, direct and lead.  Luckily I have good friends around me -both in film and out- that encouraged me and helped me get going.

What do you think is the most important takeaway from your film?If you don’t know how to do something, if you are too stressed, if you need advice…ASK.  People are generally willing to help you out.

If you could have a do over with Undone is there anything that you would do differently? If so, what would that be?

If I could do something differently in the making of Undone, I would work closer with someone who knew more about post production and releasing films.  I was clueless and it stressed me out. I lacked at the social media aspect and I could have really used some help with that. 

What do you have next in the works?

What I have planned in the future is to do more acting, I miss it.   I am throwing myself into auditioning again to try to land more opportunities for this.  

How can we learn more about you and your projects?

You can find me on IMDB, or follow my social medias 🙂

IMDB: Yvonne Bass – IMDb

Instagram : @yvonne.captures

Youtube @yvonnebass

Facebook: Yvonne Bass